INDIA vs BAN: Rain remains the villain in the second Test match being played against Bangladesh at Green Park, Kanpur. Only 35 overs could be played on the first day while the second day was completely lost to rain. India has taken a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series against Bangladesh. During the first test match played in Chennai, India had won a big victory by 280 runs. The Indian team has come to play the Kanpur Test with the intention of making a clean sweep, but the rain since the first day has spoiled the fun of this match. If the second Test match ends in a draw due to rain, then India’s path in the World Test Championship (WTC) will become very difficult.
Not a single over of play on the second day
The second and last Test match of the series between India and Bangladesh started on Friday in Kanpur. The toss was delayed due to rain on the first day of the match. Team India captain Rohit Sharma had decided to bowl after winning the toss. In the 35 overs game played on the first day, Bangladesh team had scored 107 runs losing three wickets. The game could not be played due to bad light and heavy rain. On Sunday, the second day of the match, it rained intermittently throughout the day. Due to this reason not even a single over of the match could be played. On the second day the ground was completely covered due to rain. Now there is a possibility of rain on the third day of the match also. In such a situation, this match now seems to be moving towards a draw.
Why will India’s path be difficult?
If the second Test match against Bangladesh ends in a draw, then India’s path in the World Test Championship will become very difficult. In the coming days, India has to play a three-Test series with New Zealand and a five-Test series with Australia. India will have to win in both these series. Along with winning five of their next eight Test matches, India will also have to keep an eye on the performance of third-placed Sri Lanka and fourth-placed New Zealand in the WTC rankings.
Points will have to be shared with Bangladesh in case of draw
At present, India remains on top in the WTC points table with 71.67 percent points. Australia is at second place with 62.50 percent marks and Sri Lanka is at third place with 50 percent marks. Bangladesh has only 39.29 percent marks in its account. In such a situation, if the second test match against Bangladesh ends in a draw, then India will suffer more loss than Bangladesh. In case the Kanpur Test is drawn, India will have to share points with Bangladesh.
It is noteworthy that in case of a draw in a test match, four points each are distributed between the two teams while the winning team has an advantage of 12 points. In such a situation, if the Kanpur Test is drawn, India will have to suffer a big loss. This will deal a blow to India’s hopes of reaching the final of the World Test Championship.
India has lost the final twice
The final match of the World Test Championship will be played next year at the historic Lord’s ground in London. The date for this match has been fixed from 11th to 15th June and 16th June has been kept as reserve day. India has lost the final match twice so far. New Zealand had defeated India in the final of the first edition in 2021, whereas in 2023, India had to face defeat against Australia in the final played at the Oval.